ASK CHERI S HILL

I have to tell you, I love BBQ!  Especially Ribs!  Those of us in Northern Nevada are so lucky because we have this awesome event every year over Labor Day weekend.  It’s the Best in the West Rib Cook-off where at least 20 different competitors come to see who can throw down the best ribs.  You know you’ve had a great day if you’re sticky (face and hands) and have a least one stain on your shirt (sometimes even your shoes) from all the yummy sauces dripping off the meat you get to enjoy.  It’s hot, the beer is flowing, there’s lot’s of music playing plus roasted corn, fried veggies, hot cornbread and all kinds of other delicious sides slopping around your plate. 

And then, I had one of those amazing moments when I was standing right up in front of the stage listening to Mumbo Gumbo (great band with an awesome sax player!): It was dusk, smoke from the grills was swirling up far into the atmosphere, the scent of BBQ - sweet and hot drifted through the air. Everyone was rocking to the music when I glanced out across the back of the stage and saw four American flags blowing taughtly in the wind.  It was beautiful and poignant and I felt absolutely blessed right then and there to be an American.  My first thought was gratitude for the men and women fighting for our freedom throughout the world.  Here I was free to eat and drink until my stomach hurt, singing and dancing in the streets to live music all day simply because someone somewhere was standing up right now to protect me. 

It is my hope that everyone in the world will someday know what it means to live free - to celebrate life - to experience moments like that - to feel proud of your country - and most especially, to enjoy everything there is to enjoy about BBQ!

Mary-Ann who heads my Business Development Department and I went to sunny (110 degrees) Las Vegas to attend The Estate Plan Advanced Institute hosted by The Estate Plan.  My trip started on Tuesday with a long drive down Interstate 95 with my lovely 13 year old daughter, Sierra.  Often I would ask myself as I saw a tiny cluster of homes off in the distance or a perfectly maintained dirt road leading to what I thought was absolutely nowhere, why in the world would anyone live out here?  What do they do?  How do they survive?  I mean the very act of standing out in the sun causes any exposed skin to crackle in the blazing heat.  Honestly, I never saw one bird, rabbit, squirrel or bug and rarely did I see a human being.  The absolute vastness of the Nevada desert is in itself amazing.   Tiny towns full of history dot the way:Beatty, Goldfield, Tonapah and of course, Area 51.  A lot of military installations fill in the rest and the occasional brothel.  The Nevada Test Site has been marked as a historic site, but don’t get out and read the sign or you’ll probably glow for the rest of your life!

The event itself was fun because it was held at the MGM Grand.  Fabulous food and humungous swimming pools.  I made Sierra walk the Las Vegas strip until she turned to me and said, “are we done yet?”  Yes, dear let’s go back and swim!  

The event was successful.  Both Mary-Ann and I get to connect with a lot of people we already know but typically only see once a year.  Plus it allows us the opportunity to make new acquaintences as well.  Henry Abts who wrote the book, The Estate Plan is a blessing.  His passion to help people avoid probate and reduce their estate taxes is still his focus and lasting mission.  If you do not know why you should have a Living Trust, order his book from us and read it!

After the event, Sierra and I went to stay at my Dad’s house since he just moved to Las Vegas.  The entire north side of town is completely brand new. His home is gorgeous and it was great to spend time with him.  However, after seeing all of the growth and development and the hoardes of people visting Las Vegas, I’m not certain I can fully believe our state government telling me gambling wins are down and we are in such a huge deficit.  Another event going on simultaneously at the MGM Grand had over 4,000 people attending for a solid 4 days.  That’s one event, one casino.  Please!

Anyway, the trip home was a little more eventful.  I decided to take a detour through Yerington, a town I had never been to (SE of Minden/Gardnerville) and was delighted to see all of the farms and ranches…it was so green and lush compared to the pale brown I had just driven for another 7 hours.  Even though it cost me an additional hour of driving time, it was worth it. My philosophy: You live in a state, you might as well spend time seeing it!

Since we were gone for 6 days, it’s really great to be home again.  Now I just have to unpack!

 

 

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For the last five days I have been camping in Quincy, CA enjoying an amazing event: The High Sierra Music Festival.  I am a die hard when it comes to live music.  Here’s the stage, here’s me right in front of it.  It’s me and the stage.  There are actually five stages placed throughout the fairgrounds and a constant stream of wonderfully talented musicians from around the world.  The well-known and the unknown until now sharing every genre of music (bluegrass, gospel, rock, country, african rythym, horn ensembles, moroccan, marching band, soul, reggae and of course, so much more!).  It became obvious that these guys would not have been on a stage unless the band had proved itself excellent.  I saw mastery performed through guitars, keyboards, drums, bongos, sax, fiddles, mandolins, lots of percussion instruments and every other type of musical instrument known to mankind.  Not to mention beautiful dancers, amazing stilt walkers (MarchFourthMarchingBand-FUN!), beautiful singers and a guy who wears a big bucket on his head (Buckethead is wild and totally wails on his guitar!)   I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to just let loose, dance until I couldn’t stand up any longer, temporarily lost hearing, and literally continued to feel the beat of the drum for several days later.  What a total release!  I know there are a lot of music festivals around the country and I would encourage you to find one nearby and just go.  If the bands are great, there will be no disappointments!  This is the music of America….and it’s FANTASTIC!

Last week I went to a half day retreat where I was reminded about being Mindfulness which means, Living in the Moment.  As I wandered through Rancho San Rafael Park here in Reno, I was amazed by how serene and beautiful it was as we slowly wandered down the gravel paths, breathing in fresh air and the sweet scent of all the gorgeous flowers in bloom.  We took off our shoes and were encouraged to explore all the different textures we could feel on the bottom of our feet (grass, sand, rocks, warm tile, cool cement, squishing through mud).  Being Mindfull teaches you that there is nothing more important to do or think about than experiencing right now everything you are seeing, feeling, smelling, and hearing in this precious moment.  I encourage you to stop for a minimum of 15 minutes a day (wherever and whenever) and just be: what do you see and hear? what can you touch and taste? how does that make you feel? We forget that in childhood we always lived in the moment and I certainly don’t remember exactly when that changed and why?  Do you? I have this quote hanging on my printer: peace. it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.   So I encourage you to practice Mindfulness.  It truly is an amazing way of life!  �

Last week I was invited to attend Author101University in Los Angeles which was hosted by my friend Rick Frishman of Planned Television Arts.  This is actually the third time I have attended (New York & Chicago) which means about every 3 years I get to see people I haven’t seen in a while.  It was a wonderful event and I was thrilled to see quite a few people I had invited were in attendance too. 

Marvelous speakers: Rick Frishman (PR Guy); Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup Creator); Barbara De Angelis Ph.D. (Transformational); Alex Carroll (Radio Publicity); Brendon Burchard (Life’s Golden Ticket); plus a complete panel of experts.

These are the movers and shakers, the whos who that can help you build an “information empire.”  Overwhelming, yes! Exhilerating, yes! Ah Hahs and Takeaways, yes!  Even as seasoned as I am to platform selling, I never get through an event without buying something…because that’s exactly what I need next, even though I didn’t know I needed it until I was actually there! So I signed up for Mark Victor Hansen’s Mega Book Marketing University to be held next year in San Francisco.  Just hanging out with this guy seems to make sense.

The next day I went to BookExpoAmerica at the L.A. Convention Center.  WOW!  Over 2000 vendors and at least a half a million.  Everything and everyone associated with any type of publishing: Book companies, publishers, literary agents, supply companies, authors, all web based digital assets (ebooks, blogs, sites, etc.), every type of book (childrens, fiction, nonfiction, business, cookbooks, specialty, interactive, etc.) and I must say this placed rocked!  I was exhausted.  After I went through this one huge room I noticed all these people walking in the opposite direction, so I followed them and low and behold, I entered another huge room full of vendors and thousands of people. I had to find a chair.  After I rested, I started down each and every one of those isles. Of course, on my way out I was handed a tiny pamphlet titled “How to Survive Book Expo” which would have been way more helpful when I was walking in.  I carried two full bags of books around all day (seriously - they were giving them away for FREE, signed autographed copies) plus lots of information.  Trust me, that’s one lesson I learned that I shall not repeat: take only the books you will actually read!

Anyway, I highly recommend that if you are thinking of writing a book, already have a book or are creating any other type of digital assets, you go to BookExpoAmerica at least once in your life.  You have no idea the enormity of this industry until you actually see it all in one location!

More travels coming up.

 

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